Graphic-based electronic signature management system and method

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented system for managing an electronic signature is provided. A data collector receives one or more contact information items. A signature builder builds a graphic-based electronic signature based on at least one of the contact information items. The graphic-based electronic signature includes a set of icons. Individual icons in the set of icons are respectively associated with at least one of the contact information items. Individual icons in the set of icons are configured to initiate a communication application when one of the icons is selected in order to communication via the communication application using the contact information item associated with the selected icon.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional application and claims priority to U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/165,515 filed Jan. 14, 2014 titledGRAPHIC-BASED ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD; whichis a divisional application and claims the priority benefit ofcontinuation-in-part U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/669,921 filedNov. 6, 2012, titled GRAPHIC-BASED ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE MANAGEMENTSYSTEM AND METHOD that is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/340,491 filed Dec. 29, 2011, titled“GRAPHIC-BASED ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD,” whichall application are hereby incorporated in its entirety by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to electronic communications and moreparticularly to electronic signatures for presenting contactinformation.

BACKGROUND

The means with which user of computing devices can communicate with eachother continues to grow. Where individuals may once have been reached atone or two telephone numbers, users may presently be reached via, forexample, multiple telephone numbers (e.g., home, work, and m bile), homeand work fax numbers, multiple email addresses, personal andprofessional web pages, and various social networking profiles (e.g.,Facebook, Twitter, etc.).

Given the amount of contact information individuals currently maintain,a need exists for a new approach to managing, organizing, and presentingthe various ways individuals may be contacted.

SUMMARY

A computer-implemented system for managing an electronic signature isprovided. A data collector receives one or more contact informationitems. A signature builder builds a graphic-based electronic signaturebased on at least one of the contact information items. Thegraphic-based electronic signature includes a set of icons. Individualicons in the set of icons are respectively associated with at least oneof the contact information items. Individual icons in the set of iconsare configured to initiate a communication application when one of theicons is selected in order to communication via the communicationapplication using the contact information item associated with theselected icon.

A computer-implemented method for managing an electronic signature isalso provided. One or more contact information items are received. Agraphic-based electronic signature is built, and the graphic-basedelectronic signature corresponds to at least one of the contactinformation items. The graphic-based electronic signature may alsoinclude a set of icons. Individual icons in the set of icons areassociated with respective contact information items or any other typeof electronic information that may be linked to over a network.Individual icons in the set of icons are also configured to initiate acommunication application when one of the icons is selected in order tocommunicate via the communication application using the contactinformation item associated with the selected icon.

A computer-implemented method of sponsoring an electronic signature isadditionally provided. One or more third-party contact information itemsmay be received. The third-party contact information items arerespectively associated with a third-party icon. A set of third-partyicon selections is also received. Individual selections in the set ofthird-party icon selections respectively correspond to third-party iconsselected for inclusion in a graphic-based electronic signature. Thegraphic-based electronic signature is built, at leas in part, based onthe set of third-party icon selections.

A computer-implemented system for locally managing an electronicsignature is further provided. A data collector may receive one or morecontact information items. A signature builder builds a graphic-basedelectronic signature based on at least one of the contact informationitems. The graphic-based electronic signature may include a set oficons. Individual icons in the set of icons are respectively associatedwith at least one of the contact information items. Individual icons arealso configured to initiate a communication application when one of theicons is selected in order to communicate via the communicationapplication using the contact information item associated with theselected icon. Additionally the signature builder is configured toaccess signature-related information stored remotely relative to thesignature builder.

A computer-implemented approach for managing an electronic signature isalso provided. One or more contact information items are received. Agraphic-based electronic signature is built, and the graphic-basedelectronic signature corresponds to at least one of the contactinformation items. The graphic-based electronic signature may alsoinclude a set of icons. Individual icons in the set of icons areassociated with respective contact information items. The Individualicons may be of picture graphic files selected and retrieved over anetwork. Individual icons in the set of icons are also configured toinitiate a communication application when one of the icons is selectedin order to communicate via the communication application using thecontact information item associated with the selected icon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an example of an implementation of a graphic-based electronicsignature management system.

FIG. 2 is another example of an implementation of a graphic-basedelectronic signature management system.

FIG. 3 is an example of an implementation of a web interface of agraphic-based electronic signature management system.

FIG. 4 is an example of an implementation of an input dialog of a webinterface of a graphic-based electronic signature management system.

FIG. 5 is an example of an implementation of an export dialog of a webinterface of a graphic-based signature management system.

FIG. 6 is an example of a graphic-based electronic signature.

FIG. 7 is an example of an implementation of the graphic-basedelectronic signature of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an example of an electronic communication that includes theexample graphic-based electronic signature of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of example method steps for managing agraphic-based electronic signature.

FIG. 10 is a continuation of the flowchart of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an example of an implementation of an input dialog forselecting an image for a selectable icon.

FIG. 12 is an example of an implementation of an input dialog forsetting events for a selectable icon.

FIG. 13 is an example of an implementation of an input dialog forsetting events and selectable icons based upon an event.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system for building and managing a graphic-based electronic signatureis provided. The term electronic signature system described is anelectronic content management system and not limited to only signaturesin electronic mail. The use of the term email is meant to include notonly traditional email, but other types of electronic communication(i.e. instant messaging, ssm, and other types of electronic messages.The graphic-based signature (“signature”) includes one or moreselectable icons that are each associated with a contact informationitem. A user may append the signature to an electronic communication,e.g., an email, web page, text message, instant messaging, etc. . . .When the recipient views the electronic communication, the signature isdisplayed as an array of selectable icons. The recipient may select oneof the icons in the signature to initiate a new electronic communicationwith the sender using the contact information associated with theselected icon or connect to other information associated with the icon.Selectable icons may be a button that is selectable in a user interface,where the button is an image, text, hyperlink, or other selectable userinterface element.

Furthermore, the email signature may be a collection of text and images(icons) located at the bottom of an email that is sent. One of the iconsmay connect to other information associated with the icon, such aTwitter page or other social network. An icon may also be provided thatis associated with some kind of branded company message and could beconfigured to appear in the email signature of every message a companysends. The icon's associated links, data, and contact information may beupdated at any time and previously sent message signatures would accessthe updated information. Thus, enabling the content accessed by icons tobe changed based upon time, date, or location automatically or anytimemanually. These features and additional features will be discussed infurther detail below.

Graphic-Based Electronic Signature Management System

Referring to FIG. 1, an example 100 of an embodiment of a graphic-basedelectronic signature management system 102 is shown. As seen in thisexample, the system 102 be in signal communication with a user clientdevice 104. The system 102 receives contact information items 106 andsignature design instructions 108 from the user client device 104, andthe system provides a graphic-based electronic signature 110 thatincludes one or more of the contact information items back to the userclient device. The system 102 and user client device 104 may communicatevia a network such as, for example, a packet-based network, e.g., theInternet. Accordingly the system 102 and user client device 104 maycommunicate, for example, using an HTTP request/response exchange(HyperText Transfer Protocol). The system 102 and user client device 104may also communicate via other types of networks such as, for example,cellular networks.

Contact information items 106 include, for example, the followinginformation about a user: first, middle, and last name; job title;company name; personal and professional mailing addresses; personal andprofessional email address; personal and professional phone numbers(e.g., home, work and mobile); personal and professional facsimilenumbers; personal and professional web pages; and various socialnetworking profiles (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Flickr, etc.).Various combinations of contact information items may be included in oneor more graphic-based electronic signatures for a user. A graphic-basedelectronic signature 110 may also include links to websites or data acreator may wish to share.

Signature design instructions 108 relate to the construction of agraphic-based electronic signature 110. For example, a user may createmultiple signatures using the graphic-based electronic signaturemanagement system, e.g., a personal signature containing personalcontact information items and a professional signature containingprofessional contact information items. Signature design instructions108 may also specify which contact information items should be includedin a signature as well as the order of contact information items 106included in a signature. Additionally signature design instructions 108may specify a particular icon (i.e., graphic or image) to associate witha contact information item 106.

The client devices may be any type of computing device that is able tobe configured to communicate via a network, e.g. a packet-switchednetwork such as the internet. Client devices may include, for example,desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, palmtopcomputers, m bile telephones, videogame consoles, network-enabledtelevisions, and the like.

The system 102 includes various components in signal communication witheach other that facilitate the receipt of contact information items 106from the user client device 104 and the construction and management ofgraphic-based electronic signatures. In this example, the systemincludes: a data collector 112 for collecting the contact informationitems 106 and signature design instructions 108 from the user clientdevice 104; a data store 114 for storing signature-related information;and an application server 116 that facilitates the construction andmanagement of graphic-based electronic signatures. The components of thesystem 102 may reside on a single computing device or distributed amongmultiple computing devices in signal communication with each other.

As seen in FIG. 1, the signature builder 118 and signature manager 120reside remotely at the application server 116 of the system. In analternative embodiment, as shown by way of example in FIG. 2, thegraphic-based signature builder and the signature manager 120 may residelocally at the user client device 104 as components of a localapplication. The local application, in this example, requests andreceives signature information 208 from the remote graphic-basedelectronic signature management system 102. The local application maypresent the signature information to the user via the local application202, and the user may provide signature design instructions to locallyconstruct a signature using the graphic-based signature builder 118 ofthe local application 202. The user may also, for example, create,modify, or delete signatures locally using the signature manager 120 ofthe local application 202. Contact information items and signatures arestill stored remotely at the graphic-based electronic signaturemanagement system 102 in this alternative example. Furthermore, thelocal application 202 transmits signature management instructions 204corresponding to the creation, modification, and deletion of signatureslocally via the local application 202. In response to receipt of thesignature management instructions 204 at the remote system, theapplication server 116 updates the signature-related information stored114 at the data store based on the signature management instructionsreceived. Because the data is collected locally via the localapplication 202, the remote system, in this example, does not include acombination web server 122/web interface 124, and instead just includesa web server 206 to receive the signature management instructions fromthe local application 202.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the data collector 112, in this example,includes a web 122 server and a web interface 124 for exchangingcommunications with the user client device 104. A user at the userclient device may interface with the graphic-based electronic signaturemanagement system 102 via the web interface 124 using, for example, aweb browser not shown). In response to commands or instructions receivedat the web browser from the user, the user client device 104 maytransmit requests, e.g. HTTP requests, to the system. The web server 122may receive the requests and forward the requests to the applicationserver 116 for processing. The application server 116 may process therequest, and the web server 122 may generate a response, e.g., an HTTPresponse, and transmit the response back to the user client device 104.

The data store 114, in this example, stores signature-relatedinformation and other user-related information. Signature-relatedinformation includes the contact information items 126 and thesignatures 128 constructed by a user. User-related information mayinclude user profile 130 information provided by a user when registeringfor access to the system, e.g., access credentials such as a usernameand password. The user may supply the access credentials to anauthentication module (not shown) at the system to gain access to othercomponent of the system. As discussed further below, the data store mayalso store click responses 132 to track when a recipient selects one ofthe selectable a graphic-based electronic signature. The data store maybe, for example, a database stored on a computer memory, and the systemmay include a database management system (not shown) to facilitate thestorage and retrieval of information stored in the database.

The application server 116 facilitates the construction and managementof graphic-based signatures based on the contact information items 106and signature design 108 instructions received from the user via theuser client device 104. Accordingly, the application server includesvarious modules to facilitate the construction and management of thesignatures. The application sewer 116, in this example, includes asignature builder 118 for constructing signatures and a signaturemanager 120 for managing the signatures. Users may access thegraphic-based signature builder 118 and signature manager 120 via, forexample, the web interface 124. As discussed further below, theapplication server 116 may also include a click response manager 134 fortracking recipient selections of selectable icons of signatures receivedin electronic communications 136.

The signature manager 120 enables a user to perform signaturemanagement-related tasks. Management-related tasks include, for example:creating a new signature; selecting a signature to modify; and deletingor archiving a signature. When creating anew signature, for example, thesignature manager 120, in this example, creates a new signature recordin the data store. When modifying a signature, the signature manager120, in this example, retrieves the signature information for theexisting signature from the data store 114. It is noted that, in someimplementations, modifying a signature may result in the modification ofpreviously sent signatures that access the data store 114. And whendeleting a signature, the signature manager 120, in this example,deletes the record associated with the signature from the data store.

The signature builder 118, in this example, may construct a signaturebased on signature design instructions 108 received from the user viathe user client device 104. Construction of the graphic-based electronicsignature may additionally or alternatively be automatic. The signaturebuilder 118 may include, for example, a set of default selectable iconsin the signature under construction. Additional user-selected selectableicons may be added to the signature based on the signature designinstructions received at the signature builder 118. As mentioned above,the signature builder 118 facilitates the selection of contactinformation items to include in the signature under construction and thearrangement of the selectable icons in the signature under construction.A user may add contact information items to the signature, removecontact information items from the signature, or rearrange contactinformation items within the signature.

With additional reference to FIG. 3, an example of an implementation ofa web interface for constructing a graphic-based electronic signature isshown. The signature builder receives signature design instructions asuser input via the web interface. The web interface presents a web formhaving various input elements for collecting contact information from auser. The web form of the web interface, in this example, includesmultiple text boxes respectively associated with one type of contactinformation, e.g., name, title, company, work address, home address,phone numbers, email address, mailing address, fax number, web page, andweb page address.

The web interface, in this example, also includes a preview display ofthe signature under construction. In this example, the layout of thesignature includes: a first line displaying the first and last name ofthe user; a second line displaying the title and company of the user;and a third line displaying the set of selectable icons respectivelyassociated with the contact information items. As contact informationitems are added to the web form, the signature builder may automaticallyadd to the signature under construction a selectable icon for thecontact information item. The web interface, in this example, alsoincludes a set of buttons for removing selectable icons from thesignature under construction. In this way, the user may control whatcontact information items stored in the data store appear in thesignature.

In FIG. 11, an example of an implementation of an input dialog “AddImage Icon 1100 for selecting an image for a selectable icon isdepicted. A selectable icon may be created using the signature builderthat may have user selectable buttons for “change image” 1102, “getimage” 1104, and “delete image” 1106. If a user selects the “get image”1104 or “change image” 1102 buttons, a number of images from a web basedimage store, such as GOOGLE IMAGES may be accessed.

Image stores may be identified in the input dialog display, such asGoogle Images 1108, or manual entry 1112. The “Google Images” 1108 isshown as being selected in FIG. 11. Once selected, the “Web Name (SearchTerm) 1114 text box may be used to search Google Images and select animage. The user may then select an image that is downloaded andformatted for being displayed as a selectable icon in the signature. Theweb address of the selected image may then be displayed an “ImageAddress” text box 1116. The web address or other data that is to beassociated with image icon once it is formatted as a selectable icon isidentified in the “Web Address” text box 1118. The selected image mayalso be displayed in an image area 1120. The selectable image icon maybe created once the information has been collected and displayed in theAdd Image Icon window 1100 by selecting the Add Icon button 1122. Inother implementations, the address or part of the address to access theimage is retrieved and used in the signature to display the selectedimage as a selectable icon in the signature. Once selected in theselectable icon may cause some action to occur such as a user associatedweb page to be open or associated data to be presented. The “changeimage” button enables one image associated with the selectable icon tobe changed to a different image using an approach similar to “getimage”. The difference being “get image” adds an image to the selectableicon while “change image” replace one image with another image.

Turning to FIG. 12, an example of an implementation of an input dialog“Icon Options” 1200 for setting events for a selectable icon isdepicted. The name of the selectable Icon may be entered in a “Web Name”text box 1202 that identifies the selectable icon being configured, suchas Daily Specials. A type of event may be selected by use of a pull downmenu “Event” 1204. Examples of the different types of events includedate, time, temperature, alarm, or other predetermined defined event.The web address of the different versions of the data to be accessed bythe event is entered in a “Web Address” text box 1206. In someimplementations, this may be a searchable directory structure with aselected file's address being placed in the text box. The predeterminedevent is associated with the Web Address 1206. In the current timeexample, a pull down menu 1208 is used to enable a time to be selected.In other implementation, other types of entry structures may be used,such as a text box, button, or sliders. If addition events are to bedefined for the same selectable image icon, then “Add Another Entry”button may be selected. Upon selection of the “Add Another Entry” button1210, an additional “Web Address” text box 1212 is placed in the “IconOptions” 1200 window along with another pull down menu 1214. Theconfigured events are then associated with the selectable icon after theevents have been configured in the Icon Options window 1200 and the “SetEvent” button is selected 1216.

In the example depicted in FIG. 12, whenever the daily special icon isselected in a signature the daily specials are shown. If the time is4:00 am until 11:55 am, the daily_specials_AM data is provided the timeis after 11:55 am, then the daily_specials_PM are provided. In otherimplementations, the selectable icon may be associated with weekly ordaily specials that are date dependent. For example, after Christmas(December 26) sales flyers would not be displayed on December 27^(th).Whenever the email is open and the icon is selected, the current saleinformation may be shown. In yet other implementations, the selectableicon may be associated with press releases and when selected, the mostrecent press release may be displayed.

Turning to FIG. 13, an example of an implementation of an input dialog1300 for setting events and selectable icons based upon a counter eventis depicted. A user selects “Event & Selectable Icon Options” and ispresented a display with an inn) dialog 1300 by the processing unit in acomputer or server. A Selectable Icon Name 1302 may be assigned to theevent, e.g. “Store_Icon” in the current example. The type of event maythen be selected from an event pull down menu 1304. Examples of thetypes of events for changing selectable icon and/or associated data, mayinclude Times Accessed, Operating System, Weather (temperature, rain,etc.), Geographic Area, Date, and Time. In FIG. 13, the selected eventis a click counter from drop down menu 1304. An icon address may beentered 1306 that may identify the location of the icon image to bedisplayed when the click counter is equal to or less than ten asselected by drop down menu 1310 and 1312. Another icon image may beselected for a different click count by selecting “Add Another Entry”button 1314. Additional boxes are then made available for entry ofinformation. Another icon address may be entered in the “Icon Address”box 1316. In FIG. 13, the additional icon image is “store2.jpg”. The webaddress associated with the icon identified in 1316 is entered in “WebAddress” box 1318. The click count is selected by a drop down menu 1320to be greater than and the count is selected to be “10” in box 1322. A“Reset Click Counter 1324 may be set so the click counter is reset everytime the click counter reaches 20.

The web interface may also include buttons to modify the layout of thesignature under construction. Signature layouts may, for example, applydifferent styles to the text information of the signature underconstruction. For example, different layouts may apply differentgraphics or typefaces, text styles (e.g., bold, italic, oblique, etc.),and colors to the signature under construction. Layouts may also modifyadditional or alternative aspects of the signature under construction.When configuration of the events and icons is complete, they may becommitted for execution by selecting the “Set Event” button 1326. Inother implementations, additional checks may occur to verify that anicon and data are associated with all possible events, in the currentcase counts between 0 and 20. If a lapse in configuration occurs, thenthe first entry for the icon and data may be used as default values.

Once the event is set, whenever the selectable icon “Store_Icon” isincluded in a signature block, the configured event associated with thaticon is accessed when the electronic mail is opened. The icon store1.jpgis displayed in the electronic mail if the click count is equal to orless than 10. When the Store_Icon (appearing as image store1.jpg) isselected, then the specials_store1 web address is accessed and thecurrent sale flyer is shown. Upon Store_Icon being accessed more than 10times, the Store_Icon would appear as image store2.jpg with the salesinformation for that store located at a different website. This is justan example showing how events, selectable icons, and associated data allinteract.

A counter event may be used to direct a user to a premium or otherspecial site after a predetermined number of clicks that the user hasmade. In other implementations, the number of clicks may be total numberof clicks from anyone who access the site. Upon a predetermined numberof total clicks to the site, a user may be directed to a different pageor site. In yet another implementation, a click counter may beconfigured to count the number of clicks per time period, such as perday. If a user clicks on the selectable icon a predetermined number oftimes during a day, they may then be sent to different website.

In another example, when an electronic mail is open, a message orrequest is sent to the server that selects the icons for inclusion inthe signature block. Information that may be sent to that serverinclude, the time of day, date, operating system of device opening theelectronic mail, geographic information (location and/or data associatedwith location) to give but a few examples. The information or a portionof the information may be used when selecting the selectable icons forinclusion in the signature block of the opened electronic mail. Forexample, if the request is from an APPLE WAD, then an icon associatedwith the APPLE app store may be included in the signature block of arequesting email. If the request is from an ANDROID device, then theicon may be associated with the ANDROID app store.

In yet another example, the message or request sent to the server whenan email or electronic content is opened may include information aboutthe computer and/or network that the electronic content message orrequest originated from. This information may be used with securityand/or confidentiality measures to indicate that an unauthorizedcomputer or network is accessing the link or report on the computer ornetwork accessing the link. Access may be restricted by the serverproviding instructions to disable the links to the electronic content.

An exception list may limit access to linked content to indicated IPaddress, networks, or email accounts. For example, only IP addresses onthe exception list may access a linked document. A blocking list mayprevent or limit the IP addresses, networks, or email accounts fromaccessing linked electronic content. For example, an IP address in theblocking list is not able to access linked content when the selectableicon is selected by a blocked user. Furthermore, reporting of access mayoccur whenever an attempt to access linked content. In all of theseexamples, a message may be generated and sent to the original sender ofthe email reporting on the indicated activity.

The security and confidentiality feature may also limit access to linkedelectronic content based upon any of the data either received in themessage or request or accessible by the server. For example, linkedelectronic content may only be accessed by desk top computers and notmobile devices where the identification may be based upon operatingsystem information received in the message or request. Another exampleis where links may be disabled after a predetermined number of days ornumber of times the electronic content has been accessed.

With reference to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the web interface, in this example,also includes a button to add additional web pages or links to thesignature under construction. Upon selection of the button to add anadditional web page, the web interface displays a dialog to collectinformation about the web page. As seen in FIG. 4, the dialog mayinclude a drop-down list that includes a default set of additional webpages to add (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Skype, YouTube,Blogger, etc.). If the user selects one of the default additionalwebpages, the favorites icon for the webpage may be used as the imagefile for the selectable icon in the signature under construction. In theexample dialog shown in FIG. 4, Facebook has been selected, and theFacebook icon is used as the image file for the selectable icon. A usermay alternatively select to specify a non-default webpage. The dialog,in this example, includes textboxes to receive the name of the webpageand the webpage address. Once a user has input the webpage information,the user may select the “Continue” button and the signature builder addsa selectable icon for the web page to the signature under construction.

When a user is finished creating or modifying a signature, the user maysave the signature to the data store by selecting a save button (notshown). Once a signature is saved, the user may export the signature 142from the graphic-based electronic signature management system for use inelectronic communications 136 such as, for example, email messages.

Referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5, the web interface displays anexport dialog in response to selection of an export button. In thisexample, the export dialog presents the signature in two differentformats. According to the first format, the graphic-based electronicsignature is presented the same as the signature under construction inthe preview display of FIG. 3. In this example, the first formatpresents the signature as two lines of text for the name, title, andcompany of the user, and a third line that includes the set ofselectable icons respectively associated with the contact informationitems. According to the second format, the graphic-based electronicsignature is presented as a set of markup data. This second signatureformat will be discussed in further detail below with reference to FIG.7.

Regardless of the format selected, the user may copy (e.g.,“copy-and-paste”) the graphic-based electronic signature and save thesignature to a local memory (not shown) at the user client device.Referring back to FIG. 1, the graphic-based electronic signature is thusavailable to be inserted into (i.e., pasted into, appended to, etc.) anelectronic communication such as, for example, an email or webpage. Insome example implementations, a user may manually copy-and-paste thesignature into an electronic communication. Additionally oralternatively, the graphic-based electronic signature management systemmay include an insertion module that resides at the user client deviceand that is in signal communication with the communication application136 that generates the electronic communication 138. The insertionmodule 140 may be, for example, an “extension” or “plug-in” that insertsthe graphic-based electronic signature into an electronic communication.The insertion module may be configured to insert the signatureautomatically in response to the creation of an electronic communicationor on-demand in response to receipt of an insertion command received atthe user client device 104 as user input.

With reference to FIG. 8, the user client device may then transmit theelectronic communication to a recipient, client device via a network,e.g., the Internet. The recipient diet device may also include acommunication application (e.g., an email client, web browser, etc.)configured to display the electronic communication to a recipient at therecipient client device. The graphic-based electronic signature is alsopresented to the recipient upon display of the electronic communication.As discussed below, the signature is displayed as an array of selectableicons with each icon respectively associated with a contact informationitem. The recipient may hover a cursor over an icon to display thecontact information associated with that icon in a popup dialog. Therecipient may also select an icon to initiate an electroniccommunication using the contact information associated with the icon.

Graphic-Based Electronic Signature

Each contact information item included in the graphic-based electronicsignature is displayed as a selectable icon. With continued reference toFIG. 1, the data store may store image files used for the selectableicons in the signature. Suitable image file formats include, forexample, PNG (Portable Network Graphics), GIF (Graphics InterchangeFormat), JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), and the like. Theimage files may, for example, have dimensions of 32 pixels by 32 pixels.Additional or alternative dimensions may be selectively employed.

The signature builder may initially use a respective default image filefor the selectable s associated with contact information items of thesignature. The image files of the selectable icons may indicate the typeof contact information item the selectable icon is associated with. Forexample, an image of a telephone may indicate the contact informationitem is associated with a telephone number; and image of an envelope mayindicate the contact information item is associated with an emailaddress; and an image of a globe may indicate the contact informationitem is associated with a webpage address.

Users may also choose a user-selected image file as a selectable iconthat is associated with contact or other electronic information. Forexample, the user may upload an image file for remote storage at thedata store and associate with user-selected image file with a selectableicon of a contact information item in the signature. Where the contractinformation item is a webpage address, the user may instruct thesignature builder to use the favorites icon associated with the webpageaddress (i.e., “favicon,” shortcut icon, bookmark icon, etc.). Thesystem may transmit a request for the favorites icon to the web serverthat hosts the webpage. Upon receipt of the favorites icon at thesystem, the system may store the favorites icon in the data store foruse in the signature under construction. Alternatively, the data storemay store a reference to the favorites icon stored at the web server forthe webpage. In other implementations, a user selectable image may beused as the selectable icon that is selected from a web site such asGOOGLE IMAGE, rather than a predefined image such as an image of atelephone.

The data store stores image files using a filename associated with theimage file, e.g., PRIMARYEMAIL.PNG, PRIMARYFAX.PNG, WORKPHONE.PNG, etc.The graphic-based electronic signature, in this example, includes areference to the image file stored remotely at the data store. If a userdesires to change the image file for a selectable icon in an existingsignature, the user may simply change the image file associated with thefilename. For example, the user may upload a new image file having thesame filename or associate the existing image with a new URL; the oldimage file or URL association will be replaced or archived at the datastore, and signatures that reference the filename will display the newimage associated with the filename or be associated with the new URL. Inthis way, users may update the image file for a selectable icon, and themost up-to-date image file will be displayed upon viewing an electroniccommunications—even upon viewing previously transmitted electroniccommunications or link to different content.

With additional reference to FIG. 6, an example of a graphic-basedelectronic signature is shown. The graphic-based electronic signature inFIG. 6 corresponds to the signature under construction in FIG. 3 above.The graphic-based electronic signature includes an array of one or moreselectable icons. The signature in this example also includes the name,title, and company of the user above the array of selectable icons aspreviously shown in FIG. 3. Each selectable icon, in this example, isassociated with a different contact information item. In the examplesignature shown in FIG. 6, the graphic-based electronic signatureincludes selectable icons for: an electronic business card (i.e.,vCard), an email address; a work telephone number; a home telephonenumber; a mobile telephone number; a fax number; and a webpage address.

As mentioned above, the icons of the graphic-based electronic signatureare selectable. Selecting one of the selectable icons in the signaturemay initiate an electronic communication using the contact informationassociated with the selectable icon (e.g., an email address, telephonenumber, webpage, etc.) via a communication application that correspondsto the type of contact information for the selected icon (e.g., an emailclient, telephone application, or web browser). To initiate anelectronic communication, the signature may include a URI scheme(Uniform Resource Identifier) with the contact information. For an emailaddress, for example, the signature may include,“mailto:email@address.com”; for a telephone number,“tel:+1-(123)-555-1234”; and for a webpage, “http://www.webpage.com”.Accordingly when a recipient selects, i.e., “clicks,” one of theselectable icons, a communication application is initiated based on theURI scheme associated with the contact information item of the selectedicon. The recipient may then transmit an electronic communication viathe communication application using the contact information of theselected icon.

Once a user has constructed a graphic-based electronic signature,signature-related information for the signature may be stored at thedata store. Signature-related information for the signature may include,for example: a unique identifier for the signature; a unique identifierfor each of the selectable icons included in a signature; informationthat specifies which contact information items are included in thesignature; the image files associated with the selectable icons of thesignature; and the arrangement of the selectable icons within thesignature. The data store may also store additional or alternative typesof signature-related information. The signature builder retrieves thissignature-related information from the data store when a user selects tomodify an existing signature.

The additional or alternative type of signature-related information mayinclude time based signature-related information or location basedsignature information. Time based signature-related information enablesat least part of the data associated with a selectable icon to beselectable based upon the time of day, day of week, month or year. Forexample. A selectable icon for a restaurant may provide contactinformation along with breakfast specials in the morning and contactinformation and dinner specials in the afternoon. In otherimplementations, different selectable icon with different links may bedisplayed when an electronic mail message is opened. When opening theelectronic mail in the morning, the selectable icon may have an iconimage of eggs and when clicked on takes you straight to breakfast menu.But, when opening the same electronic mail message in the PM, theselectable icon image may be of an image of steak and candles, andclicking on the selectable icon results in a dinner menu beingdisplayed. Either way, regardless of when electronic mail was opened,when clicking on button, link changes depending on time of day. Locationbased signature information may be used if a user's location isidentified via browser data, GPS/cellular location services or internetaddress. Location Based signature-related information enables at leastpart of the data associated with a selectable icon to be selectablebased upon the location of the user.

The graphic-based electronic signature may be implemented, for example,as a set of markup data using a markup language such as, e.g., XML(eXtensible Markup Language) or HTML (HyperText Markup Language).Additional or alternative approaches to implementing the graphic-basedelectronic signature may be selectively employed.

Referring to FIG. 7, an example of an implementation of a graphic-basedelectronic signature is shown. The graphic-based electronic signature,in this example, is implemented using HTML. As seen in the examplesignature shown in FIG. 7, the signature includes an array of selectableicons and respectively associated contact information items. Thesignature, in this example, also includes a URI scheme (e.g., mailto:,tel:, and http:) respectively associated with each contact informationitem for initiating a communication using the contact information item.

The selectable icons include a reference to the associated image filestored remotely at the system. The selectable icons, in this example,also include an “alt” tag (alternative text) that specifies the contactinformation associated with the selectable icon. In this way, thecontact information may be rendered as a tooltip when a cursor (e.g.,mouse pointer) hovers over the selectable icon.

For a selectable icon relating to a webpage (“webpage icon”), webpageaddress may be included in the graphic-based electronic signature. Whena recipient selects a webpage icon, a web browser may transmit a requestfor the webpage specified by the webpage address associated with thewebpage icon. Alternatively, however, the signature may include areference to a webpage address stored remotely at the graphic-basedelectronic management system as shown by way of example in the signatureof FIG. 7. In this alternative approach, the data store may store anassociation between a webpage icon and the webpage address for thewebpage icon. When a recipient selects the selectable icon for a webpagein this alternative approach, a web browser may transmit a request tothe graphic-based electronic signature management system, and therequest may include the unique identifier (e.g., “ButtonId”) for thewebpage icon. Upon receipt of the request, the system performs a lookupin the data store based on the unique identifier for the webpage iconand determines the webpage address associated with the webpage icon. Thesystem then sends a response to the web browser that redirects the webbrowser to the webpage address associated with the webpage icon. In thisway, the system may track webpage click responses and keep older dataupdated with new information.

As mentioned above, the graphic-based electronic signature, in thisexample, includes references to the image files stored remotely at thedata store. Accordingly, the communication application at the recipientclient device may request the image file associated with a selectableicon whenever the electronic communication is displayed at the recipientclient device. When the communication application displays theelectronic communication, the communication application interprets thecontents of the electronic communication, which includes, in thisexample, the graphic-based electronic signature and accompanying imagefile references. The communication application generates a request(e.g., an HTTP request), for an image file and transmits the request tothe graphic-based electronic signature management system. In response toreceipt of the request, the system may transmit a response (e.g., anHTTP response) that includes the requested image file. Because thecommunication application, in this example, interprets the electroniccommunication and requests the image files upon each display of theelectronic communication, the signature may reflect changes to thesignature after the recipient received the electronic communication. Ifa user changes the icon associated with one of the selectable icons, forexample, the system transmits the most up-to-date icon to the recipientclient device. The signature displayed may also reflect changes where auser removes a contact information item and selectable icon from asignature. When a user removes a selectable icon and contact informationitem from a signature, the system will not transmit a response to therecipient client device that contains an image file for the removedselectable icon. Because there is no image file to display, thegraphic-based electronic signature will not include a selectable iconand the accompanying contact information for the removed selectableicon.

As an example, consider a graphic-based electronic signature thatincludes selectable icons for a webpage and a mobile telephone number.The selectable icon for the webpage, in this example, is associated witha default webpage icon. A user transmits an electronic communication toa recipient that includes the example signature. When the recipientclient device displays the electronic communication, the signatureincludes selectable icons for the webpage and the mobile telephonenumber. The communication application at the recipient client devicetransmits requests for the image files associated with the selectableicons for the webpage and mobile telephone number. The graphic-basedelectronic signature management system transmits the requested icons inresponse, including the default webpage image file for the webpage icon.Consider now that the user subsequently changes the example signature toremove the mobile telephone number and to use the favorites icon for thewebpage icon rather than a default webpage image file. When therecipient client device displays the example signature subsequent to thechanges, the recipient client device, in this example, again transmitsrequests for the image files associated with the webpage icon and themobile telephone icon. Due to the changes, however, the system transmitsone response that includes the new favorites icon for the webpage andone response that does not include an image file for the mobiletelephone number. Accordingly the example signature displays thefavorites icon for the webpage icon. Additionally the example signaturedoes not display a selectable icon for the mobile telephone number andby extension does not display the contact information for the mobiletelephone number since the recipient client device did not receive animage file for the mobile telephone number icon. In some exampleimplementations, if additional icons or links are added to a signatureafter it has been transmitted, the signature may be updated. Theupdating may occur when the management system responds to recipientclient device.

Click Responses

As mentioned above, the graphic-based electronic signature managementsystem may be configured to track selections of webpage icons or linksat a recipient client device 144. Still referring to FIG. 1, thecommunication application (e.g., a web browser) 146 at the recipientclient device may transmit a request (e.g., an HTTP request) to thegraphic-based electronic signature management system upon selection of awebpage icon or link. The request may include a unique identifier thatidentifies the webpage icon or link selected. These requests may bereferred to, in this example, as click responses. The application serverof the system may include a click response manager that receives theclick responses.

In response to receipt of a click response 148, the click responsemanager 134 may update a record in the data store 114 that indicates thenumber of times the selected web page icon or link has been selected.The record that tracks the number of click responses may be, in thisexample, associated with the record for the webpage icon or link storedat the data store. The click response manager may also perform a lookupin the data store for the webpage address associated with the selectedweb page icon or link. The click response manager may then generate aresponse that includes the webpage address for the selected webpage iconor link and transmit the response back to the recipient client devicesuch that the communication application is redirected to the webpageaddress for the selected webpage icon or link included in the response.In this way, the system may advantageously keep track of how many timesa recipient selects a webpage icon or link of a graphic-based electronicsignature.

Signature Sponsorships

The graphic-based electronic management system may also be configured toreceive third-party contact information items 150 from third parties viathird-party client devices 152. The third-party contact informationitems 150 may be similarly associated with third-party selectable iconsas discussed above. When creating a graphic-based electronic signature,users may select to include one or more of the third-party contactinformation items in a signature under construction. The third-partycontact information items 150 may include, for example, webpageaddresses designed to drive to drive traffic to third-party websites.

The graphic-based electronic signature management system may track theselections of the third-party selectable icons included in the signatureof a user as discussed above. The third-party may compensate the userbased on the number of selections of third-party selectable iconsincluded in a signature of the user. In this way, the systemadvantageously creates incentives for third parties to sponsorgraphic-based electronic signatures in order to drive traffic; to thirdparty websites and links. The system also advantageously createsincentives for users to include third-party contact information items inthe signatures by compensating users when recipients select thethird-party selectable icons. The graphic-based electronic managementsystem also be configured to replace the third-party contact informationitems. The replacement may be manual or automatic such as, for example,when a sponsor is terminated.

Graphic-Based Electronic Signature Management Method

Referring now to FIG. 9, a flow diagram 900 of example steps formanaging a graphic-based electronic signature is shown. As seen in FIG.9, contact information items are received and may be stored at a datastore (step 902). Signature design instructions are also received (step904). A graphic-based electronic signature is built based on the contactinformation items and the signature design instructions (step 906). Asdiscussed above, the graphic-based electronic signature includes one ormore selectable icons that are respectively associated with a contactinformation item. A graphic-based electronic signature may include oneor more default selectable icons, one or more user-selected selectableicons, one or more third-party selectable icons, or a combination ofdefault icons, user-selected icons, and third party icons.

Once a graphic-based electronic signature has been built, the signatureis exported (step 908) and may be included in an electroniccommunication (step 910), e.g., an email or webpage. The electroniccommunication that includes the graphic-based electronic signature maybe transmitted to a recipient, client device (step 912). The electroniccommunication may be displayed to the recipient using a communicationapplication (e.g., an email client, web browser, etc.) at the recipientclient device (step 914).

When the communication application at the recipient client devicedisplays the electronic communication, the communication applicationinterprets the graphic-based electronic signature (step 916). Thecommunication application generates and transmits requests for the imagefiles respectively associated with the selectable icons in thegraphic-based electronic signature (step 918). In response to receipt ofthe requests, the requested image files are retrieved and transmittedback to the communication application in a response (step 920). Thecommunication application then displays the graphic-based electronicsignature as an array of selectable icons (step 922).

The recipient may then select one of the selectable icons in thegraphic-based electronic signature (step 924). If the selected icon is awebpage icon (step 926), then, in this example, a click response isgenerated and transmitted to track the selection of the selected webpageicon (step 928). The click response is stored (step 930), and a lookupis performed to determine the webpage address for the selected webpageicon. (step 932). The webpage address for the webpage icon istransmitted back in a response (step 934), and an electroniccommunication using the webpage address may be initiated (step 936).

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of example steps for managing a graphic-based.electronic signature e selectable icon is not a webpage icon. If theselected icon is not a web page icon (step 926 in FIG. 9), then, in thisexample, whether the selectable icon is vCard icon or a legalese icon isdetermined.

If the selectable icon is a vCard icon (step 1002), then a clickresponse is generated and transmitted for the vCard icon as discussedabove (step 1004). The click response for the vCard icon is stored asdiscussed above (step 1006). The signature information for the signatureassociated with the vCard icon is retrieved to build a vCard file (step1008), and the vCard file is transmitted back to the user that selectedthe vCard icon in a response (step 1010).

If the selectable icon is a legalese icon (step 1012), then a clickresponse is generated and transmitted for the legalese icon (step 1014)as discussed above. The click response for the legalese icon is alsostored as discussed above (step 1016). The legalese for the legaleseicon is retrieved (step 1018), and a webpage address that displays thelegalese is transmitted back to the user that selected the legalese iconin a response (step 1020).

If the selectable icon is not a webpage icon, vCard icon, or legaleseicon, then the selectable icon, in this example, is a contactinformation icon, and an electronic communication using the contactinformation item associated with selectable icon is initiated (step1022). In other example implementations, other types of electroniccontent may be associated with the selectable icon, including .wavfiles, ADOBE .pdf files, web pages, etc. . . .

Additional Technical Details

The electronic signature information associated with validating thesignature as being supplied by a trusted provider. In otherimplementations, the electronic signature may contain information suchas a recommendation value that is associated with a number of peoplerecommending the person or service provided by the person. Therecommendations may be collected by a user selecting a “Like” button inthe signature. In yet, other implementations additional value addedinformation may be included in the electronic signature such as type ofsender information (friend, co-worker, solicitation, etc. . . . ).

It will be understood and appreciated that one or more of the processes,sub-processes, and process steps described in connection with FIGS. 1-9may be performed by hardware, software, or a combination of hardware andsoftware on one or more electronic or digitally-controlled devices. Thesoftware may reside in a software memory (not shown) in a suitableelectronic processing component or system such as, for example, one ormore of the functional systems, devices, components, modules, orsub-modules schematically depicted in FIGS. 1-5, 7, and 9. The softwarememory may include an ordered listing of executable instructions forimplementing logical functions (that is, “logic” that may be implementedin digital form such as digital circuitry or source code, or in analogform such as analog source such as an analog electrical, sound, or videosignal). The instructions may be executed within a processing module,which includes, for example, one or more microprocessors, generalpurpose processors, combinations of processors, digital signalprocessors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), orapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). Further, the schematicdiagrams describe a logical division of functions having physical(hardware and/or software) implementations that are not limited byarchitecture or the physical layout of the functions. The examplesystems described in this application may be implemented in a variety ofconfigurations and operate as hardware/software components in a singlehardware/software unit, or in separate hardware/software units.

The executable instructions may be implemented as a computer programproduct having instructions stored therein which, when executed by aprocessing module of an electronic system (e.g., a graphic-basedelectronic signature management system in FIGS. 1-2) direct theelectronic system to carry out the instructions. The computer programproduct may be selectively embodied in any non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as anelectronic computer-based system, processor-containing system, or othersystem that may selectively fetch the instructions with an instructionexecution system, apparatus, or device and execute the instructions. Inthe context of this document, computer-readable storage medium is anynon-transitory means that may store the program for use by or inconnection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may selectively be,for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device. Anon-exhaustive list of more specific examples of non-transitory computerreadable media, include: an electrical connection having one or morewires (electronic); a portable computer diskette (magnetic), randomaccess, i.e., volatile, memory (electronic); a read-only memory(electronic); an erasable programmable read only memory such as, forexample, Flash memory (electronic); a compact disc memory such as, forexample, CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW (optical); and digital versatile discmemory, i.e., DVD (optical). Note that the non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium may even be paper or another suitablemedium upon which the program is printed, as the program may beelectronically captured via, for instance, optical scanning of the paperor other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in asuitable manner if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory ormachine memory.

It will also be understood that the term “in signal communication” asused in this document means that two or more systems, devices,components, modules, or sub-modules are capable of communicating witheach other via signals that travel over some type of signal path. Thesignals may be communication, power, data, or energy signals, which maycommunicate information, power, or energy from a first system, device,component, module, or sub-module to a second system, device, component,module, or sub-module along a signal path between the first and secondsystem, device, component, module, or sub-module. The signal paths mayinclude physical, electrical, magnetic, electromagnetic,electrochemical, optical, wired, or wireless connections. The signalpaths may also include additional systems, devices, components, modules,or sub-modules between the first and second system, device, component,module, or sub-module.

The foregoing description of implementations has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. It is not exhaustive and doesnot limit the claimed inventions to the precise form disclosed.Modifications and variations are possible in light of the abovedescription or may be acquired from practicing the invention. The claimsand their equivalents define the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method executed by aprocessor of sponsoring an electronic signature of an electroniccommunication comprising: receiving one or more third-party informationitems, the third-party information items are respectively associatedwith a third-party icon; receiving a set of third-party icon selections,individual selections in the set of third-party icon selectionsrespectively correspond to third-party icons selected for inclusion in agraphic-based electronic signature; and building the graphic-basedelectronic signature based at least in part on the set of third-partyicon selections; wherein the graphic-based electronic signaturerespectively includes the third-party icons indicated in the set ofthird-party icon selections such that the third-party icons indicate asponsorship of the graphic-based electronic signature by a third partywhen the graphic-based electronic signature is displayed, wherein thesponsorship is associated with compensating a user when the userincludes the third-party icons in a signature and recipients select thethird-party icons included in the signature of the user.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1 further comprising: configuringindividual third-party icons in the graphic-based electronic signatureto trigger a selection indication when one of the third-party icons isselected, the selection indication includes identifying informationrelating to the selected third-party icon; and storing the identifyinginformation of the selection indication to provide a selection historythat indicates which third-party icons of the graphic-based electronicsignature have been selected.
 3. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 1, where the compensation further comprises compensating a userbased on the number of third-party icons selected.